Viva la Vie Talent Show
by Hazel Fae
Summary: Ever wonder where "La Vie Boheme" came from? This story explains it and describes what happens when it is sung in the school talent show. Hilarity ensues. preRENT Talent show chapter is up, reviews make my day!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I've begged, I've cried, I've bribed, cheated, swindled and dreamed, but I still don't own RENT

Disclaimer: I've begged, I've cried, I've bribed, cheated, swindled and dreamed, but I still don't own RENT.

Viva La Vie Talent Show

Angel's POV

_Hmmm what's with the cute guy in the beanie? He seems kind of lonely; maybe I should go sit next to him. No, think straight thoughts, Angel, straight thoughts! _

It was Drama class and Angel was bored out of his mind. The teacher couldn't control the class, so she told them to get into groups of seven and tell each other something about themselves. This direction had taken a fourth of the class period and Angel still didn't have anyone to be in a group with. She decided that her best bet was to sit with the kid in the beanie after all so he walked, or should I say skipped, over to him.

Collin's POV 

_I have no friends in the class- no wait, in this school- and this incompetent teacher expects me to sit in a group with six other god-forsaken people and play a getting-to-know-you game! _

"Hi I'm Angel and I was wondering if I could be in a group with you!" said an unusually perky voice, interrupting Collins's stream of negativity. Collins looked up and discovered that the owner of that voice was the boy that he had been eyeing this whole class. At this point, Collins was also trying to make himself think "straight thoughts."

"Uh, Okay… I'm Collins, by the way." responded Collins in his low, melodious voice.

"Great! Let's go find five other people to be with us!" Angel chirped in his unusually cheerful voice.

Collins took a look around the room. "Our options seem pretty limited. There are only five other people left." Collins was not extremely happy about this. He was stuck with a wimpy looking kid, an emo looking kid, a hyper kid who could not keep her mouth shut, an incredibly quiet kid, and a kid who was dressing in exceptionally tight clothing.

_Wow, _thought Collins sarcastically, _seems like a great start to an even greater day._

Roger's POV

Roger was in a group with Mark, which made him slightly happy but he did not know anyone in the group and he was not exactly itching to tell them all about himself. He was trying to think of something, but was spared the trouble when someone already started.

"I'm Mimi Marquez, and I can curse in Spanish." said a girl with curly, dark who Roger found to be extremely attractive.

"Really, I can too!" chimed in a boy with a delicately drawn face, and bright, dancing eyes. "Oh and so you know, my name is Angel."

"I can curse in Hebrew and Yiddish, and my name is Mark Cohen." said a boy with a striped navy and white scarf. This information did not surprise Roger after listening to Mark's mom go on a rant.

"My name is Tom, but please call me by my last name, Collins. I can curse in Latin." added a tall boy.

"My name is Joanne and I know how to swear in sign language." a mocha-skinned girl practically whispered.

"MY NAME IS MAUREEN JOHNSON AND I CAN SWEAR IN FRENCH AND JOANNE I THINK YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL AND ARE WE EVER GOING TO LEARN SOME ACTING SKILLS AND THIS CLASS IS BORING!" a girl with bright green jeans practically yelled. Joanne blushed at the third remark.

All eyes were on Roger, and the people belonging to those eyes were expecting him to be able to curse in some exotic language.

"Uh, I'm Roger and I know every curse in the English language." everyone found this equally as impressive as being able to swear in something other that English. They spent the rest of the period teaching each other all of the words, but Maureen had a hard time not being heard by the entire class.

_Maybe this class isn't so bad after all. _Thought Roger, as he walked out of the room with what were now his six best friends.

**So, how was it? I appreciate reviews that have constructive criticism or praise, but no flames please. I know this is sort of a slow start but I wanted to set the stage (no pun intended) for what is going to happen. The cursing part was random, but I couldn't think of anything else at the moment. Please review!**


	2. A Plan, a Brilliant Idea, and Yet anothe

Disclaimer: I don't own emotion or Reeeeeent!

A Plan, a Brilliant Idea, and Yet another Drama Class

Mimi's POV

Mimi walked into Social Studies humming to herself, as she frequently did, and took a seat at the front of the room. This was highly unusual for Mimi, because she regularly sat at the back and pretended that she did not exist, but she had that familiar feeling creeping up on her once again. She had the urge to do something completely against the rules. So when the teacher walked into class, Mimi was already forming a plan.

"Attention class!" Her teacher, Mrs. Drake, began this period the same way every time, as if the students were not going to pay attention if she did not tell them to.

"Today we are going to discuss—what do you need Maria?" Mrs. Drake asked, highly irritated at being cut off.

Mimi cleared her throat and hopped up onto her desk, and proceeded to sing (although it was much closer to yelling) at the top of her lungs.

"GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN, GOING INSANE, GOING MAAAA--"

It was now Mimi's turn to get cut off. Her Social Studies teacher had a short temper to begin with, but being stopped in the middle of what she felt was an extremely important sentence because of some worthless comment was going way too far.

"Maria, are you looking for trouble?" Mrs. Drake's voice took on a dangerously low, almost kind quality like poisoned honey.

"Actually I was—"

"That was a rhetorical question! You have a detention!" Mrs. Drake's face had turned bright red. "Would anyone like to join her?" This, once again, was supposed to be a rhetorical question, but Maureen felt like answering anyway.

"Oh pick me, pick me!!" Maureen sounded like a child trying to get attention.

"DETENTION!" Mrs. Drake was fuming now and Roger's raised hand was really not helping.

"Detention for you too, Roger Davis." Her voice was now even and calm sounding, which is almost as bad as the poisoned honey voice.

"Going against the grain, going insane going mad; just to make it official, Ma'am." Roger said in a mock polite voice.

Joanne's POV

_I can't believe I'm friends with these people! They are going to get me in so much trouble, and then it will go on my permanent record, and no good college will ever accept me! Why does Maureen's smile have to be so mesmerizing?_

The whole dancing on the desk fiasco had spread like wildfire, and Joanne was not sure whether to dread seeing her friends in Drama class. When she stepped into room 112, all her worries were swept away as she saw Maureen's gorgeous face spread into an even more gorgeous smile.

"JOANNE, HI! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU FOR THE PAST 2 MINUTES AND 8.3 SECONDS, WHICH IS A VERY LONG TIME TO WAIT! I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU" Joanne felt her heart flutter as Maureen pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Class! Scarsdale Middle will hold their 12th annual talent show this year and I have decided to make it part of you final grade." Mrs. Mason's announcement was greeted by a collective groan from the class. "This will count as two test grades, so take it seriously. I will allow you to get into groups as large as ten people to perform. I am expecting you have some theatrical aspect to your presentation such as singing, dancing, or acting."

Maureen's POV

Maureen was pretty savvy, and she had a feeling that the only reason that the Drama class was being forced to be a part of the talent show was that no one ever entered. That did not matter very much to her, though, she was just glad to have a chance to showcase her talent.

"Well, what do you think we should do, then?" She asked cheerfully.

"Wait, who said that we were all performing together anyway?" Collins challenged.

"Have anyone else in mind?" Maureen retorted. "Guys, I had the perfect idea! Okay, first off, we all agree that we're Bohemian, right?"

"What's that?" Mark inquired, highly confused.

"You know, artsy musician type people. They're kind of hippie-ish, and are into dancing and acting and that sort of stuff." Maureen struggled to put it into words. "Anyway, we're all Bohemian, agreed?" This was answered with a collective nod.

"Why don't we write a song and make a dance about La Vie Boheme, the Bohemian life?!" Maureen was very proud of herself for coming up with such a brilliant idea.

Surprisingly, no one had any complaints about this and the rest of the class was spent getting their idea approved by the teacher, exchanging phone numbers, brainstorming ideas, and agreeing to meet at Angel's house to on Saturday to work on their song.

**I know, it's a bit of a slow start, but I'm making progress. Please read and review, PLEASE! Major thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, I am so grateful to you guys!**


	3. To Being an Us for Once

Disclaimer: You're what you own, and I'm not RENT 

Disclaimer: You're what you own, and I'm not RENT 

To Being an Us For Once

Mark's POV

"Mom, I'm going to my friend's house to work on some Drama stuff, okay?" Mark hollered, hoping to escape his house without getting the third degree. Unfortunately, he had no such luck.

"Mark, which friend is it? When will you be back? What kind of Drama stuff?" Mrs. Cohen asked.

"His name is Angel, I'll be back before five, and it's for the talent show." Mark slipped out of the door to avoid answering any more questions. He hopped onto his bike and tried to remember the way to Angel's house. He crossed the railroad tracks, turned right, took another right, went left and found himself on Sycamore Avenue. He arrived at house number 607 and dismounted his bicycle and was greeted with a hug from Angel.

"Come on in, you're the second one here!" Angel exclaimed with his usual enthusiasm.

Collins's POV 

Collins was pouring over his books, hoping they would give him inspiration for his song, and was startled as Angel and Mark walked into the room.

"Hey Collins! What's up?" Mark greeted his friend with a high-five.

"Not much man, just trying to write our song." He answered, trying to sound as if writing a song is easy.

"Well, I'd help you, but in the rush to escape get inside I didn't chain up my bike. Angel, do you mind if I go hook it up now?" Mark asked.

"Not at all, go ahead." He told him.

Once Mark had left, Angel sat down on the floor next to Collins. Collins's heart started racing, he was pretty sure that he had a crush on Angel, and he wanted to tell him, but he could never think of how to start. Angel's heart was also currently racing, he thought that Collins was straight, but for some reason he had fallen madly in love with him. Angel knew that he had to tell Collins how he felt sometime, and they say that there's no time like the present.

_Give into love or live in fear_, Angel told himself.

"Collins, you would accept me no matter what?" Angel asked, his brown eyes serious and concerned.

"Of course Angel." Collins told him earnestly.

_You've already started, there's no stopping now._ Angel thought.

"Well, I know this may ruin our friendship, but I think it's worth the risk." Angel took a deep breath "Collins, I really _really_ like you, in more than just a friendly way, in fact; I'm in love with you." Collins paused a moment and let the meaning of those words sink in. Angel, the most amazing person he had ever met was in love with him!

"Angel, you our one of the bravest people I know. I don't think I would ever have the courage to tell someone that, but since you've started I may as well finish, I love you too." Collins told him, hoping this wasn't some practical joke. But when Angel pulled him into a huge hug, Collins had a feeling that it was for real.

Angel let go of Collins when he heard Mark's footsteps approaching the door. Collins resumed thinking as Mark and Angel were chatting, but his thoughts were not on the books in front of him, they were wandering far away, to a place that happened to contain Angel.

Roger's POV

"Hello! Anyone home up there?" Roger yelled from downstairs, where he was waiting with Maureen and Joanne, who were all driven by Mo's parents.

"Oh, sorry Roger, I forgot to check out the window to see if anyone was coming!" Angel apologized while rushing down the stairs. He pulled Maureen, Joanne, and Roger into a hug, and then led them up the stairs.

"What's with all these books, Collins?" Roger asked with disgust, because he did not think much of anything remotely related to school, as he picked Collins's reading off the floor. "Langston Hughes, Susan Sontag, and Allen Ginsberg, why do we need these books anyway?!"

"Well I think we could put them in to our song." Angel said, coming to Collins's rescue.

"I think we should out what Mimi was singing in Social Studies in there too." added Maureen.

"I also have a few references of questionable content we could put in it." offered Mark.

"Like what?" asked Mimi.

"Oh, just a few things in relation to S&M, sodomy, et cetera." He answered.

"Mark, you have a sick and twisted mind man, sick and twisted." Roger told his friend in mock disapproval.

"That's it!" cried Joanne, which was unusual, because she was so quiet. "None of us really want to win the talent show, so why not purposely get disqualified, in order to make a statement." She then glanced around, wondering if her idea was a great as it had sounded five seconds ago when she had thought of it.

"JO, YOU'RE BRILLIANT!" Maureen yelled, giving her a rib-cracking hug.

The soon-to-be-Bohos all had fun for the next hour and a half at Angel's house, they had not yet finished their song, but planned to have it done by the coming Wednesday. Mimi said that she would choreograph it for them, and Roger promised to write music. The fact that Roger was a musician impressed Mimi, and the fact that Mimi was impressed with Roger pleased him. Everyone was extremely happy when they each went back to their respective houses, but none happier that Angel and Collins.

**A/N: Things are finally moving along! Yay for Angel/Collins fluff, I probably could have waited for the next chapter to have them express their feelings, but I was impatient. ******** I had no plans for this chapter or the one before it; I just sat down and started writing, so I hope they weren't pointlessly rambling on and on. Enough with the authors note, just press the review button! **


	4. Hey Mister, She's my Sister

**A/N: I would like to dedicate this chapter to my amazing family, especially to my older sister, Hadassah, for always being supportive, loving, and crazy! ******

Disclaimer: Okay I don't own RENT; you don't have to go rubbing it in my face by making me write a stupid disclaimer. goes off in to corner and cries

Hey Mister, She's my Sister

Joanne's POV

Joanne climbed the stairs up to the room that she shared with her sister, Ginny. She felt confused and upset, and the radio blasting Love Song was not exactly helping. She sat on her bed as Ginny danced around the room, and suddenly began to cry. Joanne Jefferson is not the kind of person who cries, so this just added to the amount of confusion that she was feeling. She sat their having tears silently run down her face, so quiet in fact, that Ginny did not notice her until the song had ended and she sat down breathlessly on a chair, facing Joanne.

"Jo, what's wrong, are you okay?" Ginny asked, her voice full of concern.

"What's it like to be in love?" She asked, hoping for an answer that was completely different from what she had been feeling.

"Well it's complicated, no one can really tell you what it's like, you just know. I mean, your heart gets all fluttery and your stomach feels like it's tied up in knots and you feel excited whenever you're with that person." She answered.

"And do your thoughts keep drifting back to that person even when you're focusing on something else?" Joanne asked, feeling like she already knew the answer.

"Yep. Wait, Jo, are you in love?!" Ginny had her "light bulb moment" and was so happy that her little sister was growing up. Joanne on the other hand, was thinking something along the lines of "_This sucks_."

"I think so." Joanne said as she buried her head in her hands.

"That's so exciting, Jo's in love with a boy!" Ginny exclaimed, as if this was the greatest thing to ever happen to human kind. She noticed that Joanne's face was still buried in her hands and then asked realized something. "Unless" she muttered to herself "Jo, is it a girl?" Joanne nodded and proceeded to cry even harder.

"Jo, don't worry, that is totally okay. It's not bad or abnormal or anything." Ginny said as she wrapped her arms around her little sister. "Who is she?" she asked.

"This absolutely amazing girl in my drama class named Maureen." She answered.

"Well, do you have any school projects that you could work on together? That way you could invite her over to our house." Ginny hoped that this would make her sister feel a bit better.

"We have something for the talent show that we could do together, it has to be finished pretty soon." She said hopping up from her bed and dried her eyes. "Thanks Ginny, you are the absolute best!" Joanne rushed down the stairs to her backpack, where she found the piece of paper with all of her friend's phone numbers. She then got her house phone, took a deep breath, and dialed Maureen's number. Someone picked up after two rings.

Maureen's POV

"Johnson residence, this is Ben speaking." Maureen's little brother answered the phone.

"Hi Ben, this is Joanne Jefferson, may I speak to your older sister, Maureen." asked a quiet voice on the other end.

"Sure, hold on for a minute." He then hollered up the stairs. "MO, THERE'S A GIRL NAMED JOANNE ON THE PHONE WHO WANTS TO TALK TO YOU." Apparently being loud ran in the family.

Maureen raced downstairs and took the phone from Ben. She mouthed a quick "Thanks" to him as she put the phone to her ear.

"Hey Joanne, what's up?" She asked casually, feeling elated that Joanne had called.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my house to work on the song for the talent show." Her friend told her.

"Sure, let me ask my dad." Maureen was so excited to be going over to her friend's house that she danced all the way to the kitchen where her father was working.

"Can I go to my friend Joanne's house tomorrow to work on a project for school?" She asked.

"Sure," he said still partially absorbed in writing his report for a presentation that he had to do tomorrow "When should I pick you up?"

"Five-thirty would be great, thanks Dad!" She called out as she waltzed into the other room.

"Mmhmm" her dad said, as he returned to his presentation.

"Joanne, my dad said it was fine. He's going to pick me up at five-thirty." Maureen's voice was getting louder, as it did whenever she was excited about something.

"That was an awesome idea to do La Vie Boheme as our song." Joanne said.

"Really? Thanks! I got the idea when I was watching Project Runway and they had to do this avant-garde outfit. I looked up avant-garde on the internet and found the word bohemian, and it all kind of clicked." She exclaimed.

"You watch Project Runway? I love that show!" Joanne cried, happy to have something in common with Maureen.

"Me too, I especially like that guy named Christian, he's like a hyper cartoon character!" She was almost yelling at this point. Joanne and Maureen talked for the next hour-and-a-half until Ben came and told Maureen that she was wasting electricity and killing the polar bears. Maureen tried to argue that she was not using any more electricity than if the phone was hung up, but Ben was adamant that she get off the phone. Maureen was sad to have to stop talking to Joanne, but could barely wait for the next day when she would be able to talk to her in person.

**A/N: I am so sorry that I didn't update earlier, but I didn't know how to start. I love Project Runway, Yeah! Go Christian; he is so funny and crazy! Please review, thanks to everyone who has reviewed already! I love you guys! **


	5. Sisters? We're Close

A/N: I hope this chapter is okay, because in the last chapter I promised a MoJo visit, and then was like "Oh man, what am I supposed to write

**A/N: I hope this chapter is okay, because in the last chapter I promised a MoJo visit, and then was like "Oh man, what am I supposed to write?" So here goes… **

Disclaimer: If I owned RENT, do you really think I would spend my time writing pathetic little fan fiction stories?

Sisters? We're Close

Joanne's POV

Joanne had a little trouble concentrating all day, but by last period, which was Math, she was barely able to keep her mind on the task at hand.

"Joanne, would you care to share you answer for number seven, as you obviously must be done, seeing as you are no longer working on your textbook assignment." Mr. Jacobson asked, knowing very well that she had not even started on number five, let alone have finished number seven.

"Wait… oh there it is." She said pretending to be searching for her answer, while really doing it in her head "X equals 12."

"That is correct, but I would prefer it if you did not wait until I ask you the answer to a problem to actually solve it." Mr. Jacobson's comment caused the class to laugh and Joanne's face to turn bright red in embarrassment. She could barely wait to go home, but then realized that she was meeting Maureen at her house, and was no longer so eager for the school day to end.

Maureen's POV

"ARE WE THERE YET?!" Maureen yelled from the backseat, impatient to get to Joanne's house, but nervous at the same time. Her mind was filled with worries, each more outrageous that the first.

_What will we have to talk about? Will her family like me? What if everyone except her is completely psychotic? What if—_

"Maureen Johnson," Her mother sighed, interrupting Maureen's train of thought"If we were there, do you think that the car would be moving?"

Maureen did not answer, feeling that this was a rhetorical question (she had been experiencing a lot of those recently), and spent the rest of the ride with her forehead pressed against the car window, thinking about how the erasers took away the pencil markings, or if they just covered them up. This may seem like an awfully random thing to be thinking about, but Maureen is an awfully random person. When the car finally stopped she figured that how the eraser worked had something to do with alien abduction. Maureen then realized that she was no longer maintaining forward motion and decided to ask that age-old question again.

"ARE WE THERE YET?!"

"Maureen, do you think I would randomly stop in the middle of the road?" Her mother inquired in a weary voice.

"Well maybe we pulled into a gas station." She answered, craning her neck to look for a Texaco© sign.

"We're in a residential neighborhood, there is no gas station."

"Well maybe the car broke down, or maybe we were making a side stop to T.P. someone's house, or maybe—"

"Maureen, to avoid further confusion, yes, we're here." Her mother answered, exasperated.

"YAY!!" She cried, attempting to climb out of the car, but then realized that the door was locked. She kept yanking on the door anyway, just for the fun of it, until her mother realized her predicament, and unlocked the car.

"Your father will be here around five-thirty because I have to take Ben to soccer. Behave while you're at your friend's house, okay?" Her mother blew Maureen a quick kiss before driving off. _Here goes_, Maureen thought, walking up the flower-lined path to Joanne's large brick house.

Joanne's POV

When Joanne heard a knock at the front door, she bolted upright from where she had been lounging on her bed, and raced down the stairs to answer it, almost tripping on the way. She swung open the door and was about to greet Maureen when she saw the UPS man standing with a package, the signature brown truck on the road behind him. She sighed, accepted the parcel, then turned around and found herself face-to-face with Ginny.

"You weren't expecting Maureen, were you?" She asked with an all-knowing smile. Joanne blushed for the second time that day. "Jo, relax, you've only been home five minutes, and she won't be here for another ten. Don't get yourself worked up; this is just two friends working on a project, not a date, okay?" Joanne nodded and resumed waiting. When there was a second knock on the door roughly ten minutes later and Joanne had a feeling that this was not another UPS man, or FedEx, for that matter. She rose from the couch, took a deep breath, and opened to the cheerful face of Maureen.

"IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU, IT'S BEEN FOREVER!!" She yelled and practically threw herself on Joanne to give her a hug.

"It's good to see you, too, but it hasn't been _that_ long. I mean, we saw each other in third period." Joanne answered, her reply muffled because she had a face- full of Maureen's hair. She liked the way it smelled, sort of like the perfume area in department stores, just not as overwhelming. Maureen released her friend from the hug.

"This is coming from the person who thinks that two minutes and eight point three seconds is a long time, or was it eight point two?" The two of them shared a laugh, "Anyway, I'm really hungry, so can we go get something to eat?"

"Sure! Do you like cereal straws?"

"Oh I love those! But I have mine with orange juice." Joanne gave her a look of utter bewilderment, for she could not fathom the idea of sticking something chocolate flavored into something orange flavored. "Just kidding, I eat mine the normal way too!" she said with a giggle.

Joanne led her to the kitchen and selected four cereal straws, two for each of them, from the pantry. She then poured two tall glasses of milk, and set it all, straws and milk, on the kitchen table.

The two then had a race for who could finish their milk first, which Maureen won because she used both straws. Joanne accused her of cheating, but Maureen defended herself, saying that she was only using good strategy. After a few minutes had passed, both girls had finished their snack and were ready to try to write their song.

"This is impossible!" Maureen cried in frustration.

"You've only been trying for four minutes," Joanne tried to calm her friend "why don't you just brainstorm some ideas?" She pulled out a note pad and wrote "Brainstorming" at the top.

"Let's see, Homo sapiens, carcinogens, hallucinogens, those all sound alike. What do you think Maureen?"

"Let's add 'em! Gertrude Stein, apathy, and ecstasy, those all sound pretty rhythmic." Joanne wrote everything down quickly.

"Entropy, the Sex Pistols, 8BC!" Joanne spoke quickly, and wrote even quicker.

"Bisexuals!" Maureen yelled, caught up in all the excitement.

Joanne just stared in absolute confusion; she had never heard that word before. Maureen felt slightly embarrassed, which is completely the opposite of her usual personality. She normally had no shame whatsoever.

"What's a bisexual?" Joanne asked, saying the word slowly, as if tasting it.

"Well it's when instead of being totally gay or straight you're sort of both. I mean, you like boys and girls." She answered quietly.

"Can that even exist?" Joanne was still completely bewildered.

"I should know, because I'm bi." She said; face becoming redder by the minute. "You don't find that weird, do you?"

"Of course not, I like girls for goodness sakes!" She exclaimed, and then put her hand to her mouth, amazed that she had actually said that. "Well, let's put in bisexuals, and trisexuals, too."

Now it was Maureen's turn to be confused. "There's no such thing as a trisexual, is there?"

"No, but that's the point. It'll throw them for a loop." She said, eager to change the subject from the fact that she was a lesbian, and that Maureen was bi. Still, it gave her a lot of hope that Maureen might like her, but she quickly pushed her thoughts back to writing the song. In the next hour and a half they had an entire string of lyrics starting with bisexuals and ending with marijuana. Although they were completely unrelated, all of the words seemed to fit together perfectly. Both were extremely proud of their accomplishment, and were hoping that everyone else would like it, too. At five-thirty, when Joanne hugged Maureen goodbye and felt her heart jump to her throat, and fell asleep thinking about her.

**A/N: Thanks to all my faithful readers and reviewers, keep up the awesome work! **


	6. Everybody Dance Now!

**A/N: I'm so sorry that I didn't update sooner, but I was away for a week at a residential horse camp, and although I was unable to write, I did get bitten by a tiny inspiration bug. ******

Disclaimer: I don't own RENT, which is why I occupy my time writing disclaimers for every single chapter. (Should I keep doing that? Please put your opinion in your review) Nor do I own the song Everybody Dance Now, which belongs entirely to C+C Music Factory, or the fabulous Duke University, home of the Blue Devils! (My apologies to the Tar Heel's fans)

Everybody Dance Now!

_Mimi's POV_

"Okay, we have our lyrics and they're fantastic, but I feel like they're missing something." Mimi told Maureen on the way to Drama class. All the lyrics had been sent to Mark the previous night, who had put them together and distributed them to everyone that morning. All that needed to be done was music and choreography, which were Mimi's and Roger's jobs.

"Mhmm… maybe we'll think of something during class." She responded absentmindedly. Ever since yesterday's meeting with Joanne, Maureen had found it hard to think about anything else. The two then rounded the corner and entered the class with two minutes to spare. The five remaining bohos crossed the threshold of the Drama room door in the space of the next seventy-two seconds, and they all sat down, lyrics in hand, ready to work. All that the class had been doing since the assignment had been given out was working on it, which Mimi found entirely pathetic. It was not even October and their teacher had obviously run out of lesson plans until the spring musical rolled around.

_Roger's POV_

"Alright, what are we going to do this class period? All we need is some music and a dance routine." Roger was amazed that for once, he had finished a project early.

"Well, although we have great—" Mimi began.

"You mean fabulous." Angel interjected.

"Fine, although we have _fabulous_ lyrics, I really feel like they're missing something, and I just can't put my finger on it." Mimi stated. Roger loved that Mimi was looking for more, not just stopping and leaving it alone, but striving to make it perfect.

"Well maybe we can make it sort of like a toast, you to start with, we raise our glass to la vie Boheme. Them we could occasionally put in 'to' like right here" Mark proceeded to read from his sheet of lyrics, "'To riding your bike midday, past the three piece suits, to fruits, to no absolutes, to absolute.' Sort of like that." Everyone agreed that it was perfect, and spent the class inserting "to's" into their song.

Roger walked up to Mimi as she was gathering up her notebooks to go to the next class.

"Hey, since you're choreographing and I'm composing, do you want to meet up over the weekend to work on the song?" he asked.

"Sure! How does Saturday at noon sound?" She asked happily.

"Great, but I need to ask my parents first." Roger then felt extremely self-conscious of how stupid that sounded.

"Okay, call me when you get the chance." Mimi did not find what Roger had just said to be the slightest bit stupid, and had to check with her mom before she went, too.

_Mimi's POV_

It was ten thirty nine on Saturday, and Mimi was tearing through her closet, trying to find the perfect thing to wear, as she was currently clad in her pajamas—some sweat pants and an old Duke University t-shirt. Finally, towards the back of her closet Mimi found something lovely: a blue peasant top that faded to almost white as it got towards the bottom, and was adorned with a scattering of sequins that started with barely any at the bottom, and increased farther up the shirt. She paired this with a pair of skinny black jeans and leather boots. Feeling content with what she was wearing Mimi, went downstairs to get something to eat. This was what she did whenever she went to someone's house around noon or six P.M., as these are in the middle of a meal time, and she found it extremely awkward when someone asks if you have eaten and you have but they have not, and vice versa. So by eating a small bit, she was good either way. At eleven twenty six she mounted her lime green bicycle, and began pedaling to Roger's house.

_Roger's POV_

"Hey Mimi!" Roger said cheerfully as he opened the door and found the dancer standing before him.

"Hey yourself!" She responded, equally as pleasant.

"Well, do you want to come in?" He asked while running up the flight of stairs that lead to his room. When Mimi entered after him, she was amazed. His guitar was propped up in the corner, band posters hung on the walls, and the floor was covered with an endless supply of sheet music. Roger seemed to be a really serious musician.

"I really can't think of anything good on the guitar, but what I've written for piano sounds okay." He explained, pulling some music from the pile on his bed and handing it to Mimi "What do you think of it? I tried to make it happy and crazy sounding."

"Um, Roger, I can't read music." She stared at the paper dumfounded.

"Right, sorry. Come on down then, and I'll play it for you." He said as he led Mimi downstairs. He sat at the piano and played a fast, exciting melody backed with a jumpy left hand. When he finished Mimi simply stared in awe.

"Wow." She breathed. "I knew you could play guitar, but not piano, and I definitely did not know that you could play so well, or compose!"

"It's just something I picked up, my mom teaches piano at the music store." He responded casually, though inside he was glowing. "The only thing is, I don't really want to play in the talent show, I'd much rather be onstage singing."

"Joanne called me last night. She's been studying piano for seven years and she doesn't really want to perform, she figures that she'll get in less trouble that way." Mimi answered, instantly solving the problem.

"Thanks Mimi, you're the best!" He exclaimed, pulling her into a quick hug. "Do you want to work on some dancing now?"

"Well since Mark said our song is kind of like a toast, what if we started sitting around a table and then started dancing on it! Do you mind playing the music once again so I can get some ideas?"

Roger sat down at the piano and began playing his composition, as Mimi began to dance by herself, then with an imaginary partner, the jumping off of an invisible table.

_Wow, _Thought Roger, _She really can dance._

When the song ended, Mimi ran up to Roger breathlessly, cheeks pink from exertion.

"Oh, this is going to be so perfect! I wish everyone else was here, it'd be a bit easier, but I think we can manage." She said with enthusiasm, and began showing Roger some steps, as well as writing down who was dancing with who, when, where, and for how long. (The author is not going to bore you with the rest of the details of Mimi and Roger's visit, but they are insisting that I tell you that they both worked very hard. Let us pause for a moment to acknowledge the effort that our characters put forth to bring us La Vie Boheme.)

So one and a half hours, six sheets of paper and two glasses of water later, our bohos had finished all of the song and dance, and Roger was escorting Mimi to the door.

"This has been so much fun, thanks for having me over!" Mimi chirped.

"It has been fun. I'll see you at school!" He replied.

"See you!" She said, but before Mimi could shut the door Roger planted a small kiss on her cheek. She closed the door and walked to her bike in a daze. Mimi put her hand to her cheek, still not able to believe what just happened. But that kiss allowed Mimi to think something that she had been suppressing for ages: she was in love with Roger Davis.

**A/N: I just noticed that I have an obsession with very random times like seventy-two seconds. Also, which other story of mine is there where Mimi has a lime green bicycle? Please put your answer in your review. I'm really happy with this chapter, but that's ultimately up to you guys to agree or disagree. Anyhoo, please review, it makes my day! **


	7. To the Stage!

**A/N: I was away at the beach for a week, and couldn't write, many apologies! Also, the lime green bicycle is in "True Friendship", if you've read it hugs for you, if not, go read it! And now, without further ado, the moment you've all been waiting for… the talent show!**

Disclaimer: Lalalala RENT, ooh squirrel, anyway I'm too distractible, oooh SHINY, to own RENT. Where shiny go?? Come back shiny, I not eat you, promise!

To The Stage!

_Narrator's POV_

"Oh my gosh, I can't remember any of my lines and we're next and we're act thirteen which is so unlucky and this is such a bad idea!" Maureen ranted backstage. The bohos were indeed next, but having rehearsed their number twenty three times, not counting little snippets at the lunch table, there was no possible way anyone could have forgotten their lines. Never the less, Maureen just had to find something to be a diva about.

"Mo, I'm sure that you know your lines perfectly, and this song was your idea so it can't be bad. You're going to rock out there, okay?" Joanne asked, hugging her girlfriend. Yes, Maureen and Joanne had been going out together for two weeks.

"Okay." She answered and then, after a pause. "That's easy for you to say, Miss All-I-have-to-do-is-play-piano." Maureen stuck her tongue out, loving to tease her with their little inside joke.

"Fine Miss I'm-such-a-diva-I-can't-stand-it."

"Well, Miss-I'm-a-neat-freak-and—"

Maureen was cut short by the arrival of their drama teacher. "Okay guys," she whispered from the soundboard "get ready for your little rendition of that West Side Story song, you're on in five." The bohos just nodded, trying to conceal laughter. They had tricked their teacher by pretending to do a scene from _her_ favorite musical, while working on _their_ song.

Other than Maureen claiming that she was going to vomit (which she did not), the next five minutes passed uneventfully. When their drama teacher beckoned them onstage, everyone (including our favorite drama queen), felt confident that everything was going to be perfect. They all had clip-on microphones, except Joanne, who had a regular sized one by the piano. Angel stood at the front of the stage while her friends sat at the table and proceeded to introduce their act.

"There was a change of plans, and instead of performing a song from the musical West Side Story, we will be displaying our own talent in a song that we wrote. So I present to you, La Vie Boheme!" Angel announced with his usual enthusiasm. Joanne struck a chord and mouthed to her friends: _It's show time!_

Mark jumped on the table and began to sing "We raise our glass, you bet your--"

Collins leaped up and covered his mouth, as planed. They did not want to be disqualified _that_ early. He then released his hand and Mark continued.

"--to, La Vie Boheme!"

The rest of his friends joined him on the table and sung with him. The bohos were practically bursting with energy, jumping up and down on tables and singing their hearts out! At one point Collins scooped Angel into his arms and, holding him bridal style, kissed him on the cheek. This was received with quite a few cheers, much to the performers' surprise. It all went perfectly until Angel and Mimi hopped up to sing their part.

"To yoga, to yogurt, to rice, and beans, and cheese, to leather, to dildos, to curry vindaloo, to huevos rancheros, and Maya Angeloo."

The teachers at the back of the auditorium where buzzing about what had just happened. Little bits of conversations weaved together to sound something like this.

"Did they say dildos?"

"How could they know what one is?"

"They must have said pillows."

"Pillows, that's right."

Having come to there faulty conclusion the teachers stopped talking and went back to listening to the song, unfortunately, the paid attention just in time to hear Mark yell:

"Mucho Masturbation!"

This really got some attention, but the principal found that their song was very creative and decided to let it slide, so the show went on. But then something was called out that she could by no means let slide.

"To sodomy, it's between God and me, to S&M!"

This was shocking and very embarrassing for Principal Holden, and she began to march up to the stage to stop the performance. But fortunately for our beloved bohemians, this was an extremely large auditorium, so they had a fair amount of time before their song was brought to a close.

"In honor of bohemian an impromptu salon will commence immediately following the show. Mimi Marquez, clad only in bubble wrap, will perform her famous lawn chair handcuff dance to the sounds of iced tea being stirred." Collins said in a mock important voice.

"And Mark Cohen will preview his new documentary about his inability to hold an erection on the High Holy Days!" Roger ad-libed. They had not written this bit, but instead decided to make it up as they went along. Everyone was so busy thinking of something to say that no one except Joanne noticed a remarkably angry principal headed towards the stage. She looked over and caught Mark's eye, and motioned with her head towards the audience, all without missing a note on the piano. Mark immediately saw the sign of impeding doom, or at least getting kicked off the stage, and jumped in to say something about Maureen, and then decided to get revenge on Roger for his comment.

"And Roger will attempt to write a bitter-sweet evocative song." Roger sat down at the piano and played one of the few songs that he had memorized and actually liked. "That doesn't remind us of Musetta's waltz." Mark finished, getting a laugh from the crowd, and which point he showed Roger the principal of doom getting very close to the stage. Collins then said something quickly about Angel while spinning her around on the table top, just as the principal arrived on stage and motioned them off. But our darling bohemians were not done yet. Out of all of the improvising that had just happened, the final bit about Collins had been planned. Although they were backstage they still had microphones clipped on, and knew perfectly well that what they were about to say was going to be heard.

"And Collins will recount his exploits as anarchist." Angel began, "Including the hopes of reprogramming the MIT virtually reality equipment to self-destruct and then broadcast the words…" Everyone yelled as loud as they could:

"ACTUAL REALITY, ACT UP, FIGHT AIDS!!" They bohos tried to keep singing, but a switch on the sound board was flipped, and the power to their microphones was turned off. They then turned to face their furious principal and drama teacher.

**A/N: Bit of a cliff hanger, isn't it? I had to change a few of the words for it to make sense like the bit about the MIT virtual reality equipment and the impromptu salon. More is coming, including La Vie Boheme B, so keep reading and reviewing.**


	8. That was just too much fun!

**A/N: Yo! This is probably going to be the last chapter but I'm thinking of doing a super long friendship fic soon. Thanks to my fabulous reviewers, major hugs to you guys. Also, a really big apology for updating so late, but life's been really busy lately, with school and homework.**

Disclaimer: Cave person no owny awesome musical thingy, cave person think it called RENT.

That was just too Much Fun!

"You have disgraced this talent show and embarrassed me in front of the entire school! All of you will receive detention and your parents will be notified. You are henceforth banned from all talent shows at this school!" The principal raged. Joanne could barely believe that she was getting a detention, and she was actually banned from something, but beneath all the shock she felt a certain joy in rebelliousness. They went up there to make a statement, and did a fabulous job. Still, detention gave her a feeling of impending doom, not to mention facing her parents.

"Your detention starts tomorrow and will last the remainder of the week." Their principal declared.

"I'm sorry my good lady, but a have a slight issue with next week, it appears that I am already booked." Roger said in a mock British accent.

"Don't you try to be cocky with me, young man."

"My apologies." He responded, still with the accent.

With that, their highly irate principal stormed away.

_Detention, Room 117, 4:03 pm_

The bohos were extremely bored, because as much as the talent show was fun, detention was a nightmare. Mark looked up at the teacher, who was currently absorbed in a sappy romance novel, decided that the coast was clear, and passed a note to Collins.

Mark: Hey Collins, I'm bored.

Collins: I know, this is horrible

Mark: Aaaah, what ever will we do?? My brain is about to drip out of my ears from pure boredom.

Collins: Ewww, TMI

Roger: Let's wrap the teacher in adhesive tape & make a break for it.

Mark: Ha ha ha, Mrs. Rogers is allergic to adhesives, after all. Oh no, someone must clean up my dripping brain.

Collins: It was so worth it, though.

Roger: What?

Collins: The talent show, hello! Memory loss much?

Mark: You know that was just too much fun…

Roger: Yeah, quit rubbing it in.

Mark: No, I mean I'm sorry we could only do it once.

Collins: Oh, now I get it.

_Lunch_

"Alright, everyone knows what to do?" Collins checked.

"How could we not? We've been over this a bazillion times, just don't worry, okay honey?" Angel answered with confidence.

"Ready everyone?"

"As we'll ever be" Maureen responded.

Mimi promptly leaped onto the lunch table, and burst into song.

"To dance, no way to make a living, masochism, pain, perfection, muscle spasms, chiropractors, short careers eating disorders!"

Mark embraced his camera and sang in his cute but nasally voice.

"To Film, adventure, tedium, no family, boring location, darkrooms, perfect faces, egos, money, Hollywood and sleaze!"

Next came Angel, Roger and Joanne. They all yelled "To music", and Angel hopped up to begin.

"Food of love, emotion"

"Mathematic, isolation"

"Rhythm"

"Feeling"

"Power"

"Harmony and heavy competition!"

Collins and Maureen took their cue and began to yell.

"Anarchy, revolution, justice screaming for solution, forcing changes, risk and danger, making noise and making pleas!"

This little number was greeted with vivacious applause from the students, and reprimanding from the teachers, and it, along with the first La Vie Boheme was permanently banned. Although they say that if you listen close enough, there's always someone humming it in the halls of Scarsdale Middle School.

La Vie Boheme La Vie Boheme La Vie Boheme La Vie Boheme La Vie Boheme La Vie Boheme La Vie Boheme La Vie Boheme

Sitting in the smoky Life Café with Benny bothering them about their art was not Mark's idea of a good time. He simply tuned him out and let his mind wander, all the way back to his hormonal middle school years. _Wow, the talent show was beyond fun, I'd love to do that again…, _he reminisced. _Wait, if it could do all that to a principal, just think of what it can do to Benny,_ his brilliant plan beginning to form. So without further ado he leaped onto the table and burst into song.

The End

**A/N: I think that was a good chapter, but I'm still looking for feedback from you guys. Thank you so much for coming along for this ride, I hope you enjoyed it. Tune in soon for a new fic, I'm thinking of something as we speak, er… as I write and you read. Adios! **


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